Bajrang Dal leader files complaint against Karnataka health Minister over remarks on Savarkar
- In Reports
- 10:56 AM, Oct 05, 2024
- Myind Staff
A Bajrang Dal leader, Tejas Gowda, filed a complaint on Friday against Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, following his controversial remarks about Veer Savarkar. Gowda criticised the minister, urging him to exercise caution in his public statements, particularly those involving historical figures.
Gowda expressed his concerns, stating, "He holds a responsible position as the health minister, and whenever he addresses the media or speaks in public, he should be careful. His recent statement about Veer Savarkar was inappropriate. He claimed that Savarkar, despite being a Brahmin, consumed beef. I would like to ask Dinesh Gundu Rao, Do you have any proof that Savarkar consumed beef? Or, I ask directly, did Veer Savarkar appear in your dreams and admit it?"
Challenging the health minister, Gowda called for an open discussion on the matter, saying, "I challenge Gundu Rao to set a date, place, and time for a public discussion on this matter. We are ready to discuss this openly instead of allowing such false allegations and rumours about Savarkar to spread. I urge you to focus on your portfolio and the health of the people."
Dinesh Gundu Rao's remarks came on October 2 during the launch of the Kannada edition of Gandhi's Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India. During the event, Rao commented on Savarkar's views and lifestyle, saying, "Savarkar was not opposed to cow slaughter. He was a Chitpavan Brahmin but a non-vegetarian. In that sense, he was a modernist. While his thinking was fundamentalist in some ways, he was also modern. Some even say he ate beef, but certainly, as a Brahmin, he consumed meat and openly advocated for it."
Rao also compared Savarkar's ideology to that of Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. "Gandhi was a vegetarian and deeply believed in Hinduism, but his actions were different. He was a democratic person. Jinnah was a devout Islamist who drank wine and, according to some, ate pork. Yet, he became a Muslim icon. He wasn't a fundamentalist, but Savarkar was. Jinnah compromised his philosophy for political power, while Savarkar remained a fundamentalist."
Speaking to ANI, Rao later elaborated on Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, stating, "Someone like Godse, who assassinated Gandhi, was a fundamentalist because he believed he was doing the right thing. This is the danger of fundamentalism—even when committing heinous crimes, you believe you are justified. That is the issue."
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